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Thinking Cuba, Que Rico!, And Jose Fuster's Art Environment

Sunday, October 02, 2016

Av and I are researching a trip to Cuba, and Travel + Leisure did this quick-read piece about some of the ins and outs. Skyscanner will run flight scenarios to Cuba now, provided you're assured that your trip meets one of the US requirements for travel there. Although there are still restrictions, we can use Av's credentials to get in, and it's been a dream of mine to go forever. Also: just looking at random dates for the summer, flights are in the low-$400s from here, so it's not exorbitant.

A couple of months ago, Expedia didn't have any hotel options in Havana, and even today only a couple showed up in my search. The Iberostar Parque Central looks like one of the nicer hotels in the city, but I don't think they're doing American reservations online yet, it seems.

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Having supper at Que Rico! Cuban in Slidell gets me thinking about it even more. It's in this low-slung, kinda dingy shopping center, but that matters 0%. Because...

...because...

...because this! Okay. These aren't IG-ready plates. But none of that matters. It just tastes so good. This is the Bistek a la Palomilla -- a thin, juicy steak with grilled onions. Know how sometimes when you think of steak, it's all big thick ribeye or tall filet or something similar, but then you have something like this and it's just luscious and perfect and sooo steak-y? Yes. Like that. So good. So, so good.

I had tamale, topped with roasted pork, grilled onions, and mojo sauce. I don't even have to say that it's been slow-cooked forever and that it's crazy-juicy and tender because just look at that.

And there's even extra meat embedded in the masa surrounding the center of the tamal, because carnivore. Sometimes, anyway. Oh this is just so nice.
Yah. Mmmmhhhhh. One of my friends asked recently if I'd been, and she loves it as well and says that their renovation/expansion is complete. Let's go.

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Av's dad went to Cuba in 2009. These are my favorite pics of his trip -- he visited artist Jose Fuster and took these pics

I care for ourcat named Eugene Walter, three bantam hens who go by Tallulah, Zelda, and Nelle Harper Lee, and about a thousand red wigglers in a compost bin (each blessed with the name of an outstanding landsman).

I am a Creative Director at a magazine. I like to make things look fab.

I try to be a curator of kindness, goodness, and interesting experiences.